List of Famous people who died at 61

Tatiana Polyakova real name Tatyana Viktorovna Roganova was a Russian crime fiction writer who was active between 1997 and 2021.

Stefan Jentsch was a German cell biologist. He was a director at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany. He is known for his pioneering work in the field of protein modifications by ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like modifiers.

Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American folk music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting became well known throughout the world. Among them were "Joy to the World", "The Pusher", "No No Song", "Greenback Dollar", "Della and the Dealer", and "Never Been to Spain".

Thomas Joseph Capano was a disbarred American lawyer and former Delaware deputy attorney general who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, his former lover.

Geoffrey Samuel Scott was an English professional footballer who made 176 appearances in the Football League playing for Stoke City, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, Middlesbrough, Northampton Town and Cambridge United. He played as a defender.

John Richard Whiteley was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show Countdown. Countdown was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:45 pm on 2 November 1982, and Whiteley was the first person to be seen on the channel. Despite his intelligence, Whiteley enjoyed projecting the image of an absent-minded eccentric. His trademarks were his jolly, avuncular manner, his fondness for puns, and his bold, sometimes garish wardrobe.

Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh was an officer of the Nigerian Air Force who served as the 18th Chief of Air Staff and the 15th Chief of Defence Staff of Nigeria. He died from gunshot injuries sustained after his vehicle was attacked by unknown gunmen along Abuja-Keffi road on Tuesday, 18 December 2018.

Susan Mary Barrantes was the mother of Sarah, Duchess of York, and the maternal grandmother of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Vadim Abramovich Sidur was a Soviet avant-garde sculptor and artist sometimes referred as the Soviet Henry Moore. Sidur is the creator of a style named Grob-Art (Coffin-Art). He also left a book of poetry The Happiest Autumn and a memoir Monuments to the Current State.

Abdulaziz Jassim, was a Qatari actor and comedian.